Category: Spirituality

“This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” – 1 John 2:6

I get it. I get that we have to give a reason for our faith in Jesus when asked. I get that we shouldn’t cower when our allegiance to Jesus is questioned. I totally get it that the corporate body and weekly gatherings are important, singing our songs of adoration for Him and taking notes on the latest sermon series.

It seems, however, a lot of us who subscribe to the religion that bears the name of Christ would rather pay lip service than actually “live as Jesus did”. We seem perfectly content with telling others that we went to church on Sunday. We’re fine with telling people that we’re Christian. And, for some, we even get a kick out of defending our faith in heated debates and arguments with the very same people we’re supposed to love. Sure, “love” is such a watered down word, but even living out the simple definition of said word seems to be overshadowed by the somewhat rhetoric of proclaiming Christ.

The one whom Jesus loved boldly says, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” John didn’t suggest taking on the lifestyle of Christ as one of the options of religious expression. John flat out said we MUST live as Jesus did.

So what does living as Jesus did really mean?

There are so many facets to Jesus’ life that a simple blog post wouldn’t do justice to painting a complete mural of what that would look like. And, having said that alone, should project the picture of Jesus’ life being more than just Sunday services and midweek Bible studies. At the least, living as Jesus did can be found in the very Scripture that Christ quoted from Isaiah.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

What about you?

How are you living as Jesus did?

Let’s talk.

“We write this to make our joy complete.” – 1 John 1:4

Happiness is circumstantial, but God’s joy is something that can’t be taken away.  The difference between the two is one is dependent on the ups of life, while the other is consistent no matter what life may bring. John, to take things a little further, comments that completed joy is simple: remaining in Christ’s love by obeying His commands.

In this case…revealing the truth of Jesus.

John indicates that he’s writing to his audience out of obedience to Jesus and, in so doing, his joy is complete. John is remaining in Christ’s love by being obedient to share the truth of Jesus.

Similarly, our joy is complete when we go and share the love and truth of Jesus with others. According to Jesus, there’s no other way around being in compete joy, than by being obedient to Him.

Having said that, our church’s Missional Community will be journeying through the epistles of John. I’d love for you to join us in our journey and check back weekly to read my thoughts, as well as, share yours.

Let’s talk.